Oxford Village considers selling village hall and moving

OXFORD - The village has been working with Burton-Katzman Development Co. on plans to sell the village office on W. Burdick Street and replace it with a multi-family residential development.

Since the 1970s, the village staff has operated out of a 10,000-square-foot complex that includes the police station, Village Manager Joe Young said. Oxford voters approved the sale of the property in November, 2012.

In a June memo to the village, Bingham Farms-based Burton-Katzman stated that a new development at 18-22 W. Burdick St. could be worth between $4 million and $5 million and generate annual tax revenues of $80,000 to $100,000.

But before finalizing a deal, the village has been exploring several options for a new village hall.
“There’s still a million dollar-plus problem, relocating and where that money comes from,” Young said.

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There are at least three sites the village is considering for new construction.

The village could build a new facility:

*on the 3.58 acre village-owned property at 98 Glaspie St, which is used for salt and warehouse storage.

*at 32-38 E. Burdick St., which is owned by the village through the Downtown Development Authority. According to Burton-Katzman, this project could include either a single building for the village or a multi-tenant building with retail, office and residential space.

*at a 9,000-square-foot vacant, privately-owned property that is north of Burdick and west of North Washington streets. Located in the downtown, this site also could be solely used by the village or as a multi-tenant building, but the village would have to purchase the property.

The fourth alternative would be to renovate Oxford Township Veterans Hall at 28 N. Washington St.

The Burton-Katzman memo noted that this structure is big enough to accommodate the village offices.”

However, the village is focusing on the E. Burdick property, which is near the intersection of Mill Street, Young said.

“The Mill Street parcels are the ones we are looking at, at the moment as the most financially viable,” he said, although the other possibilities could be revisited later.

Council member Elgin Nichols supports the idea of selling the property, because it would mean more revenues for the village. However, he is waiting to hear the final cost analysis on the plan before giving his opinion on what should happen, he said.

“We’re going to have to weigh in on what’s best for residents of the community. We don’t really have the information available yet. When it is available, we’ll make that decision.”

The village is working with Oakland County officials on the issue, and also may seek citizen input as well.

“If and when we sell it and at what amount and where we go, that’s all to be determined by the village council,” Young said.